I decided to pay a little bit more in this trip after staying at Shangri-la Golden Flower previously. And I was not disappointed. Sofitel was, in my opinion, better value for money. The rooms were comfortable and of good size, albeit a bit on the dark side. The service was good, as was the food at the breakfast buffet (cheese, croissants, and decent coffee!). Sofitel is located within the city wall, making it a great base for sightseeing around there. The traffic getting in and out of the city wall could be bad, however. So it may require careful time-budgeting if you are on a business trip.

The hotel is either French-owned or a joint French-Chinese venture. The food has all the benefits of French cuisine but is delivered by Chinese expertise. It is delicious, with fresh croissants for breakfast as good as any in Paris. There is an a la carte menu as well as a buffet and the buffet holds a variety of western and Chinese dishes. You can eat a complete Chinese meal or a French meal or a mixture, and the same seems to apply at breakfast or in the evening. Try the Chinese Cabernet Sauvignon.

There is a pool and a spa area. The pool is surrounded by loungers with towels provided and in the summer must be a delightful sun trap. It still functions in the winter until late at night so you can have a swim before dinner or before breakfast.

The staff are efficient and polite. There is an ATM machine in the lobby downstairs and there are various bars and restaurants on site. The whole building was once the seat of provincial government and accommodation is in two wings connected by an underground tunnel that is an art gallery with a jewelry counter.

Do we have any gripes? Not really. The TV channels are a bit grainy and the room lights are on more than one circuit, which is unnecessary. If you go at the time of the Chinese New Year (which moves according to the lunar calendar), you will find many Chinese are away visiting family. This works to the advantage of tourists by thinning the crowds. Go and enjoy!

Thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this hotel, even though was only one night.

Arrived by train at 9am from Beijing and walked to the hotel (about 20 minutes). Was pleasantly surprised to be given immediate access to a room and was upgraded to a suite. This room was enormous and exactly what we needed after a long night on the train.

The staff were exceedingly helpful and would go out of their way to offer assistance and provide information.

The breakfast was excellent with a wide variety of choice.

Only complaint was the heating - nice when you immediately enter from the cold but quickly becomes too hot and uncomfortable for sleeping.

Otherwise was an excellent choice for our stay.

Rooms: We were upgraded to a Junior Suite for our 1 night here - enormous suite, with separate living room and 2 bathrooms!. I would highly recommend this option, even paying extra for it - this gave us access to the club lounge for breakfast, with free snacks, coffees and cocktails also available for most of the day. The staff in the club lounge were outstanding - truly nothing was too much trouble, they were just so charming

Location: Xian isn't the most picturesque of cities. The hotel is about 20-30mins walk from the Bell Tower/ Drum Tower, but isn't really on a street which merits a nice stroll.

Food: The breakfast and complimentary snacks in the club lounge were really excellent. We ate in the Morroccan-themed restaurant, Casablanca, (good for a vegetarian like me) and again the staff were charming

Overall: Only stayed one night but really impressed with the Junior Suite and club lounge, and all the staff were excellent. Definitely a cut above what I was expecting